Hi everyone! I'm new(ish) and have been lurking a bit. I love this thread and could use a little serenity in my TTC efforts, so hope I can join in. A little about me...Jenn, 35, married to hubby, 32, TTC #1 since January. Have some issues with ovarian cysts and wonky/anovulatory cycles, and working reaaalllyyy hard on trying to correct some of that (hopefully) with food and lifestyle changes. I just read WomanCode and it gave me some hope that maybe I have some power over this...we'll see. :) Can't hurt anyway!!

Anyhoo, currently 11dpo and just taking it day by day. I'm usually much more anxious waiting to ovulate because I don't know if I will. Once I ovulate I breathe a breath of relief knowing that at least my body is working. After I ovulate and we've done our best with timing, I know it's totally out of my hands and I just do my best to not to guess at every single thing I feel. I wont' even buy a hpt unless AF doesn't show up when expected.

So excited for those of you pregnant, love the beautiful belly pics! And will keep those of you TTC in my thoughts! I really like how everyone can mingle together in this thread. I was posting on another site and they were super strict about posting in your "proper cycle forum". I kept thinking, "but I want to talk to ladies in all stages of this journey!".

Mares- your new house is my dream house!!! Even though I've always wanted the house in the woods, now that we're TTC I feel even stronger about it. I keep checking craigslist to see what's out there. What area do you live in? We're in Tacoma so I mostly look around here but I'd pretty much live anywhere between Bellingham and Corvalis. Of course, hubby would need a new job so that might not be feasible. Anyway, congrats on the house, sounds wonderful.

Welcome Jenn! This is a fab thread. We have a mix of women from USA, Australia and UK, at all stages of motherhood from wishing to almost there! We support each ither and share experiences in this crazy journey. Really pleased to have you with us and I hope you are one of our BFP ladies very soon!
Just a thought on your wonky cycles, have you had your ovaries scanned by ultrasound? I ask because I had slightly wonky cycles and small cysts on my ovaries. I was diagnosed with pcos (polycystic ovarian syndrome) which was devastating at the time, however I was put straight onto drugs and I adjusted my diet and hopefully it will help. It may be worth you having a scan and hormone testing if you haven't already.

Chuord- so good that your parents will be there to support you :-) unfortunately I have to manage my mum. She has anxiety and worries about me, which doesn't help me in any way and makes it more difficult. So I have told her just the broad outline of what I'm doing and trying to manage her fears. Really pleased for you that you will have some help. Did you say is collection Saturday?

Mamablue and primal- getting diapers makes those little babies feel even more real and imminent. I'm now in a new phase of excitement for your journeys. I love that I have followed you through from TTC to BFP and soon to birth!! That is really amazing. I feel so privileged to have shared your journey.

Afm- I'm on day3 of shots. They are going ok. My next scan is on Saturday and I will probably start the cetrotide then. My biggest problem at the moment is DH! He is so focused on work at the moment. I have got him to cut down his caffeine and give up coffee. Honestly, you'd think it was a big deal for him. I do get a but annoyed when I am having shots every day and scans every two days plus the operations to collect and implant the eggs- and he gets grumpy about taking time off work for the consent sessions. Grrrr men!!

@oxford
I've had many ultrasounds done and I always have a "complex" cyst on each ovary. Not the typical pco cysts and No other symptoms of pcos. This has been going on for years.They haven't been overly concerned just keeping their eyes on them. I haven't had hormone testing done because my hmo refuses. If I don't get pregnant soon I'm going to switch Drs to my husband's naturopath clinic and insist they do some testing. I'm hoping with my lifestyle changes they'll go away and my hormones will balance out on their own. I'm still ovuating more often than not, so theoretically I can get pregnant despite the cysts.

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! 12dpo for me today, no temp drop yet. I don't feel very pms-y besides slightly sore boobs and a bit tender in the uterus, not crampy though. Unless I got my O day wrong, I would expect AF anytime. If nothing happens in the next few days I'll probably test Sunday or Monday. If I did get O day wrong, I'd be on 8dpo...but my longest cycle ever was 35 days and I'm currently at 33. So we shall see! I don't feel pregnant but it would be a very welcome Memorial Day surprise!

Oxford - dh got like that taking his multivitamins, I point out how hard that and the sample is compared to the shots and raging hormones the sarcasm cones free and he gets it... Just make sure your dh understands that in the grand scheme he doesn't have to do a lot.
I've got a scan this morning (sat) and possible trigger today not collection... Hoping collection is Monday - as dh is available for support lol

Chuord- did you take the trigger today for Monday collection? Oooh you are so close now :-)

Jenn- glad to hear you are not pcos, I hope they find something easy to help you :-)

Today I had another scan and I have 15 follicles (8 right and 7 left). I'm very excited! The largest was 11 and the others are not far behind. I have a few smaller than that so the nurse said some of those may catch up. I start cetrotide shots tomorrow and back for another scan on Monday. DH went with me today and he was so sweet! It's the first time he's been to an ultrasound with me and he loved seeing all the follicles. I am trying to make it all real for him as he doesn't have the aching ovaries!!

Mamablue, wengrin, primal- hi!

Please can one of my American friends explain memorial weekend to me? What is the history and what do you do to celebrate? Happy Memorial Day (if you say that!!!)

oxford, Memorial Day is to commemorate those who have died while serving in our Armed Services, I think particularly in war. It is a three day weekend for us. There are probably parades and stuff in some towns, but I don't know how many people celebrate it in it's intended way. A lot of people go camping, have bbqs, go out of town on trips. I have a feeling it may be celebrated differently depending on where you live. I don't live in a very "patriotic" area, so I don't really see celebrations that are in honor of the actual spirit of the holiday, but that might totally different elsewhere.

Oxford - no I'm delayed by 2 days, so trigger on Monday and collection on Wednesday. I think I have somewhere between 13-16 follicles, a few are a little slower and he's trying to catch them up. Taking dh is great - the more they understand the more they can support - lol I drag mine along to most appointments. He also takes the day of retrieval off to transport and look after me (you don't strictly need it but it's great and you shouldn't be alone after anaesthetic)
Great news on your follicles! Although parts of ivf are a bit painful (the ovaries lol) the way it is so clinical and organized is quite relaxing - knowing it will all be organized! Fx you only have to do this once xxx

Afm - cycle is cancelled, my estrogen last month was 9,500 today was 18,183 given I maybe have 4 eggs more it's quite high. He said given how I reacted last time he's not comfortable continuing this cycle - I agree with him, I was feeling really stressed this arvo after I found out the level. The thought of canceling was a little sad for about half an hour and now I'm good with it and ready to move on next time.

Chuord- sorry to hear your news, that must be disappointing. It's better to be safe and look after yourself though. I hope you are relaxing now the pressure has lifted. Will you roll straight into another IVF month or take a break?

Jenn- thanks for the explanation. I hope all my American buddies had a lovely memorial weekend. Come on everyone, report in with your adventures!

Afm, I was back on for another scan today. Most of the follicles are about 14 but I have a big one at 18. The nurse said they will probably let that one over ripen to let the others grow and get a good crop. It's nice to see them progressing. If my cycle goes ahead I will have collection on Friday or Monday. I'm starting to look forward to it to escape the ache in my ovaries and the banging headache!

Chourd - So sorry the cycle was cancelled. It seems like it was a good decision though. Does this mean that you will move into a new IVF cycle next month? What are you to expect to have happen layer this cycle - can you expect to ovulate an egg or two naturally in the coming week?

Oxford - Sounds like things are moving along right on schedule. Your meds are giving you headaches in addition to the swollen abdomen? Sorry to hear that. How are the doing with administering your injections? Not too sore, I hope. Are your scans daily? every other day? I'm feeling so excited for you and Mr. Oxford and your ripening eggies.

AFM - I'm happy and doing good. Baby is getting stronger and bigger. My belly is a big round clumsy orb and I'm loving every single second of having it. I will miss it when it's gone. I've been combating some swelling in my lower legs and feet. Nothing dangerous or too noticeable by others, but I find it rather unsightly. Other than that very minor inconvenience, things are great. Just tackling a few house projects while I'm still able. This weekend I shoveled out the side yard to make way for pouring concrete, while my husband cleaned out our rain gutters. It felt good to do work like that. Today I'm going to mop my floors. Our floors throughout the house are limestone, so this will be quite the task.

Oxford / mama blue thanks! It does suck, but health is most important.
I can't let o happen naturally as with that many follies it'll be the same thing (ohss) so I'm back on suppression without stims until they have withered away.
Re next month, no idea yet - I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens, but I'm hoping I'm good enough to at least do a semi stim iui or natural so I have a couple more eggs. We'll see...
Mamablue - wow digging is energetic work! Bet it lulled the baby to sleep though I don't envy you the mopping though. I cheated and got a cleaner in last week as I wanted to focus on the ivf - it makes you quite uncomfortable within the two weeks your tummy distends probably up to 4 months of equivalent, which as you ladies know is too fast for comfort!
Oxford - hang in there! It gets to be hard work towards the end, the skin is more sensitive to the shots too - but it will be so worth it!! Hugs and fx for you!

Chuord I am sorry about this cycle, big hug to you. But it sounds like you are peaceful about it and ready to move on to the next. Wishing you good luck and proper conditions for the coming cycle.

Primal- I had a similar experience with Brooke one time. Those rip currents are extremely deceiving. It's tough to know which direction the tide is going. Please don't blame yourself. I can only imagine how frightening that must have been watching it happen. To make my situation worse, Brooke is an excellent swimmer and we live at the beach so I wasn't keeping my eye on her (this was last summer). We had all of the kids at the beach and I lost her for about 5 min but I thought she was nearby. So I was looking for her but not frantic. Well she finally came walking up from far down the beach and I saw her and ran over to her. She had been swept all the way down in a rip current by herself and no one heard her. She luckily went with the current because we have talked about it before, and thankfully it went parallel to the shoreline instead of sweeping her out to sea. She was able to swim to shore once the ride eased up. It was awful feeling like I wasn't even there for her! She was fine though. We hear of drownings at our beach a lot. The tide is really strong sometimes. I am so glad your son is fine.

Glad to hear pregnancies are going well for the expecting mamas. Lindscott the IUI sounds promising!!

Oxford so happy to hear how the first IVF round goes!!

AFM I am finally feeling better!! Woohoo! I have been able to get out and about and back to normal. I still have nausea but no more vomiting. It's been a week since I threw up last! So grateful for that. I had an ultrasound last week and baby girl is doing great!

By the way I meant to post a belly selfie- this is pretty ridiculous because I am only 17 weeks! Third baby sure does poke out and make room much quicker! With my first I didn't even show (I just looked a little pudgy) until well into 5 months. Now I have the full-on preggers look where people are touching my belly already. Too funny. Here it is:

Woohoo!!! Yay for a healthy no nausea wengrin!! Brilliant news. And doesn't your bump look adorable :-) you are so definitely pregnant! I assume you have told everyone now? How did they react?

Mamablue- bless you, out digging the garden with a big baby bump. Lol. You have a determined outlook on life. I hope your floors sparkled after all that work?

To answer your questions Mamablue, I'm having scans on alternate days. Yes I'm doing ok with the shots. The menopur is quite straight forward now I have got used to mixing the powders and the injection is small and thin with a small needle. However the cetrotide is a bigger injection and a bigger needle and it stings more than the menopur. I have one in my stomach and one in my thigh. I dread taking more stimulant as my ovaries are singing already. Thanks for your advice chuord that but gets more painful towards the end, I can really feel that already!!

I am hoping that collection will be on Friday so I can recover over the weekend. If not, it will be Monday and I will have to ache my way through the weekend. I also have a banging headache from the medication. Chuord, did you have that? I am drinking loads so it can't be that. Nearly over now though.

I'm at work today and I can't really get interested in it! I'm in the office in London and totally not focused!!!

Hope you are having a fab day.
Lovely to have you and the bump back wengrin :-)

Oxford - I didn't have a bad headache, just a light ever present one (my pain scale is possibly distorted on headaches though), I was so busy feeling too full to breath and queasy that I didn't notice the headache so much. Hugs on the bigger needle - clexane is like that - stings like a ...
I found that around 9-11 days of stimming seemed normal so you must be close. How big were the follies last scan? I think they grow around 2mm per day and when the smallest are around 18 they'll trigger you.

Thank you for the advice chuord, I am not looking forward to the last bit!! Have you had any more news about your next cycle? Are you chilling and enjoying a little break?

I ha another can this morning and they have told me to do the trigger shot tonight for retrieval on Friday. I have 5 big mature follicles, largest is 22, then about 10 immature smaller ones about 14ish. They will probably go for the 5. I'm looking forward to not taking cetrotide any more!!

Oxford -- That's exciting! Go eggies go! DS is doing better. Got tearful when someone mentioned something that reminded him of the beach, so there is still some healing to do for sure. We saw his therapist for the first time today, and she seemed okay. I'm hopeful that this will be helpful for him.

Chuord -- Sorry to hear about the canceled cycle. You must be very disappointed. I hope your ovaries respond better to the next one. Will they be adjusting meds?

Mamablue -- Yup, big and clumsy over here, too. Loving it when I remember to be patient with myself and not expect to feel and move like my usual self.

AFM, not much interesting going on. Lots of baby acrobatics going on. The camping trip went well and was definitely what I needed. Settling in a bit more now that things are getting closer; probably no more trips before we get down to baby business. We'll start sorting clothes this weekend and start getting ready. It's surreal that we're just a couple of months away, but I guess it's a fact!

Primal- sorry to hear DS is still having it rough, he had had a difficult few months. I was wondering if there are life saving classes over there that he could go to? When I was a lifeguard we had a club where we taught the kids basic rescues and first aid. It may help restore his confidence, especially if you do it at a pool, so a slightly different situation for him. I am really hoping that the therapist can support him.
Good to hear the baby acrobatics! That must be an amazing feeling inside you! Take it easy and enjoy :-)

Chuord- how are you? Big hugs on still having the aches. I'm so relieved that you are out of danger and not risking anything, such a shame that you still have the aches though. Are you doing some nice things and treating yourself?

Afm, I'm not doing great today. Now my shots are over abd triggered my mind is focused on retrieval and winding myself up. I had nightmares last night about the procedure. It is playing on my mind. I need to get through today and tonight and get it over.

Have a good day everyone!
Oh btw, I read on another thread that there is some maintenance down time on here today.